I'm interested in getting an idea of how much time you put into teaching, on average. In particular, I'd like to hear about your experiences with block shifts. Is it typical to teach sporatically between, say, 2 and 10 pm and also to be at the school doing prep work from 12-2? How much mandatory overtime do you work, typically? What factors are most relevant to this determination?

I'm a newbie and I'm just trying to get a sense of what my schedule will really be like and what to look for in a contract other than block shift and no (or limited) mandatory overtime.

It would also be useful if I could get a sense of what your teaching/training experience was like coming into your first EFL position, and what percentage of your waking hours you put into your first job (or should have).

I have a fair range of teaching experience, but no experience teaching EFL and no TEFL training. I also have a tendency to overprepare for classes. Should I expect to end up working 12 hours a day?

I just started teaching too and have no ESL experience. I've been teaching little kids in the states for several years though and I no longer prepare at all unless I am forced to. I work from 2:30 to 8:40 and they make us come in at 1:30 to do lesson plans and tests and things. My job is actually fabulous and the required hour of prep is useful. We don't ever have to work overtime because there are classes only then except for one month in the summer and one in the winter. Then there is camp for several hours in the morning.
By the way, do you think all those little yellow smiles look like what they say? This doesn't look surprised to me.

Wow, that sounds like a very reasonable schedule. (This little guy looks pretty shocked to me. The "surprised" guy might look more so if his eyebrows were a little off to the side...like in the Peanuts cartoons.)

That's great news to hear. I'm not adverse to putting time into prep and research, but I just want to make sure I be able to pursue some other aspects of my life...especially given my inexperience. (Insert :relieved: dude here.)

(Can someone tell me how to 'edit' my last post so I don't post twice in a row? I didn't notice the Beaver's message until i posted my response to Shevek.)

The Beaver, thanks for your reply.
That schedule sounds more like what I was expecting, but still reasonable. Are you teaching adults or children? I understand adults require more prep time than kids (exept maybe kindergarteners, for whom you have to make manipulables). I'm a doctoral student with university teaching experience, so I'd prefer to teach adults, but I was opting for the kid route to avoid split shifts and to minimize the prep work.

I'm really not (too) lazy, but I'm still in school. Since I'm writing my thesis and have to make sure I can set aside a fair chunk of each day (3-4 hours) for that. In addition, I have a little dog, go to the gym, and need to cook, clean etc. As long as I have enough time to do these things then Korea sounds perfect (I don't need much 'down-time'), but if not I should probably put off Korea for now.

(Can someone tell me how to 'edit' my last post so I don't post twice in a row? I didn't notice the Beaver's message until i posted my response to Shevek.)

The edit button is in the top right corner of your post (if you're signed in).

I teach adults (children are the spawn of the dark one and don't let nobody tell you different). The 20 + 20 hours was based on my last university job. I've been out of the hagwon business for awhile, but as I recall, my co-worker planned about 15 hours for a 30 hour work week. At the time, as a teacher, I was more useless than a man with diphallic terata in a convent, so I didn't plan at all (embarassing to remember that). But, because expectations were non-existent, nobody cared.

University jobs tend to have lower contact hours than hagwons as well as much better holidays. Set your sights thataway and you should get in your thesis hours.

Just so you know, part of the reason I have to do so little prep is because there are very nice lesson plans that have been laid out by the other teachers. Apparently we all get a text to plan for and arrange materials for and then make it available for the other teachers. I just haven't done that much yet since I am still adjusting. I've actually only worked two weeks here. I do like the shocked face though.

(Can someone tell me how to 'edit' my last post so I don't post twice in a row? I didn't notice the Beaver's message until i posted my response to Shevek.)

When you are logged in as "broccoli", a small edit button should appear on all of your posts... on the right side of your screen... simply click on this and edit away

Happy posting,
waterbaby

PS I work from 10~6 4 days per week and 2~6 one day per week. However, I teach just under 5 hours per day and less than three on one day... I have an hour break for lunch and 30~45 mins break between classes in the afternoon which is great for prepping. But I think this situation might be the exception rather than the general rule.

I rarely work past 6pm (sometimes correcting papers or whatever) as I get loads of time during the day for that. No overtime at all. There's no way that they'd be able to fit it into their bus schedule!!! (yay me!) I spend a few hours during the week searching for related stuff on the internet and making worksheets, games etc... but strangely enough, I enjoy doing this! Reminds me of when I used to play "schools" as a kid

Beaver, the university positions do sound pretty sweet but there are two reasons that deter me from going after them. One is that unis seem to prefer teachers who are already in Korea. With my dog, it's awkward for me to arrive in Korea on a touist visa and then make an E2 run to Japan. The other is that I think they are looking for someone with more TEFL experience than I have; they like to see sample lesson plans, and so on. I could cobble something together, but it would probably stink. It's probably best if I pursue the uni job for my second contract in Korea (but please let me know if I'm wrong on that count).

Shevek, I'm with you on that. I'll also be looking for schools with a solid curriculum and good resources to help me find my teaching-groove.

Waterbaby, your schedule sounds terrific. Did you specifically have that kind of schedule in mind during your job search? I guess I'm wondering if I can ask directors and recruiters about this sort of thing without looking like a major slacker. Is it generally possible to get a good sense of the 'real' schedule (that is, including prep, hours on site, marking, and miscellaneous duties) before you start a job?

I tend to like prep work too. It's wonderful that so many EFL teachers have been kind enough to resource materials on the web. That's going to help out a lot. I'm really looking forward to joining the TEFL community.

I should have started this thread as a poll for total hours worked. Shoot!

I work in a kids' hogwon, so things are a bit less structured. I teach 30 hours a week, 6 classes a day. I prepare between a half an hour to one hour every morning. I don't believe that I could possibly prepare unique lesson plans for each class, that's why I thank God for text-books. I always try to have extra work, (from alternate text books) in case the kids don't bring their books. (which happens often) I have tried preparing a lot for every class, but found it was a waste of time. The more prepared I was, the more the kids ignored what I was doing. (unless it was a game) I've found that the best I can do with some classes is to do a page or two in their workbooks, and then move on to a game for the remainder of class. If I try to do more, I just end up fighting a losing battle.
I have found that the best way to deal with the really young classes is to over-prepare. I come to class with at least 10 worksheets per student. l make sure it's really simple stuff that they can understand, but fun too.
If they get through half of it, then I call the class a success.
Luckily, I usually only have 2 young student classes every day, otherwise I would have to prepare a lot more.
Anyway, I hope this helps
Cheers

I also work at a hakwon, from 3-8 is teaching kids, then an hour of adults from 8:30-9:30.

The contract said something about prep time and I just asked the director about it. He actually said he didn't care if you prepared for each class, just be on time. We use textbooks and do 1-2 pages a day, so there really isn't need to prepare a whole lot.

However, that's not really my style, so I'm the only one out of 7 teachers that has a schedule book! We teach 10 classes (25 min each) and it was too difficult for me to remember where each class was, who I'd given homework to, etc.

My old hakwon was from 2-7, and I went in around 12-1 to prepare most days. That school had NO supplies for teaching, no text books, nothing! I did everything from scratch, so it took a lot more work to make the class work. My job now is a lot easier.

Just another tale of what a teacher in Korea has done. A lot of it will depend on the kind of person you are. I can't stand to be disorganized--I like my order as to what I'm doing. If you like to wing it, you might be able to keep the kids busy in 7 different classes a day with no advanced thought!

It's probably best if I pursue the uni job for my second contract in Korea (but please let me know if I'm wrong on that count).

Shevek, I'm with you on that. I'll also be looking for schools with a solid curriculum and good resources to help me find my teaching-groove.

You're probably right about going after it as a second contract.

As to the hagwons with solid curriculums. . . One of the reasons my first contract sucked was because I was told they had a curriculum and teaching materials and I just had to follow the plan -- they had nothing. Make sure you get a hagwon with curriculum rather than a school that just says they do.

Thanks for responding some waygug-in and justagirl. It looks from everyone's input so far that I can expect a work week consisting of 35-40 hours, including prep time. That's definitely do-able. If I stay in Canada, I'm looking at a standard 40 hour work week at minimum.

The beaver, thanks for the heads-up on the hogwans. I'll make a point of talking to the teachers specifically about the details of the curriculum... man, it's a jungle out there.